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Aug. 20, 1935. w. J. HANCOCK 'MINERALS. SEPARATING AND CONCENTRATING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. '7, 1932,

ATTORNEY INVENTOR W Zia/240a Aug. 20, 1935. w, J. HANCOCK 2,012,192

MINERALS SEPARATING AND CONCENTRATING MACHINE INVENTOIR I Z 71 Emma L BY I ATTORITIEY WITNESSES with the se ahd other'objects-ih View,

Patented Aug. 2i), 1935 minerals of various specific gm'v itiesf'1"or-n 'their For-es and the concentration of "the minerals in a'fiialg'arh's. r

The machine is particularly applicable to the" separation of free'golfdand silver fro'm'the gahgue 5 of alluviaor' plaeer deposite or of roek formation .a're 113119411? 'comiflihgled ih s 'i1ch a e and have diffei'fit speeific gravities, they are effectively s'e'p aifited by the present invehti'onand concehtra ted' ihto a'malgams, one of which is predominately gold amalgam End the other silver amalgam. V The invention has in View th separationjof minerals from the gangue, and the separation of the miner ls fromeaehbther .by pulsations produc'ed'in the Q'i'ebed as the ore fiowsthroilgh the in accordance with their specific gravities. V I

Ahether object of the invention isto provide means for iin'partihg a, swirling motion to the water" Iind'f the ore bed, thereby maintaining therein-' 7 erais in motion on the bed; and. 'meafis or fpr'og dueing pulsations 'infthe w'a'tei iihdei the" ore bed which raises the ore from the bedpermitt'in'g the minerals which have a. heavier specific-gravity than the g-angue to settle upon the screen forming the support for the ore bed-.efnd to pass throi lgh the-.sereenpaind to' bejthusseparated from the g angHe oragglomefate." e v s 3 'Anothehob-ject ofthe-inv'ehti'on :is the provie it. pcssi m to carry a re ative-merge, re bo qyand reduces the cm'en'tity'of gafi u'eworking through" 1 J; the screen f offilih'gthe' bed of themachine vention alsoeonsists -of certaihnovel' reame ahd arrangement' oj parts which willhe 'm'o're .ifilly described 23mlclaimed hereinafter V drawings, in which MiN RALs SEPARATING AND GON e 16" after it has been pulverized. As-gold and ilver mi'rieral fr'orh'the oieehfl'oo l ee jfftmting the-same into 2 machine, whieh lift the ore from the bed causing the minerals to'arifa'nge themselvesonthe beds .Jscfreens 11' gi s {i a are agrangea in the com 118 which is pesiltive in its aLtibfxpa atus is s'hbWh; b'ne stage se machin ihcliides pectively', m stepeea'ielet the, d liv yhmpe 1-" I Q i ifi th 1 91.3 I lighter mineral For h mi o of prev? 7 ens and'tolessen the s with crank arms 21, which are journaled on rocker shafts 28 carried by each of the piston rods 29. The upper ends of these rods each engage a guide bracket 30 secured at one end to the wall of the container l0, which brackets restrict the pistons to vertical reciprocating movement. The countershaft 26 is journaled at 3! upon the cross members 32 secured upon the top of posts 34, and this shaft is rotated in the direction of the arrow 35, by any desired motive power, such as by a motor, not shown, driving the .belt 36 around a pulley 3! keyed to said countershaft' adjacent one end thereof.

The supplemental water supply 2! is admitted to each of the pipe bends 22 at a point 38 below the bottom of the stroke of the pistons in order that the full suction or upward stroke of the pistons may be utilized in drawing the water into the pipe bends, and the full downward stroke of the pistons utilized in forcing the water into the compartment. The amount of water entering each compartment through thesupply 2| determines the amount of lift imparted to the ore upon the screens l1 and I8.

When separating minerals of relatively large granules from their ores, stronger pulsations are required. For this reason, the quantity of water entering-through the supply 2| is adapted to be regulated by means of a valve 39, located in each supplyline. On'the downward stroke of the pistons, the said water lines are automatically closed bycheck valves 40.

The upper ends of the-pipe bends 22 are each provided with a stufling box 4|, which prevents the escape of water about the pistons, thelower ends of the pipe bendsbeing secured to the rear wall of the container by lag screws 42.

The downward stroke of the pistons, displaces the water in the pipe bends, forcing the same into the compartments, respectively, through the openings 43, and raising the elevation of the water in the compartments, producing an overflow over the top of the intermediatelwall I3 and the end-wall 33, and a lifting action upon the ore on the screens. ,This lifting of the ore causes the material having lighter specific gravity to be forced up higher than the materials having a relatively heavier specific gravity, which quickly falls again upon the screen; the lighter gangue material being drawn into the influence of the water passing over the bed upon the screen, is

washed first from the screen I! onto the screen 3 and then. out through the discharge flume 19. The upward stroke of the pistons draws into the pipe bends suificient auinliary water to break the suction of the upward stroke, thus substantially nosuction is felt on thie ore on the screens.

The smaller particles of themineral separated from the ore on the screens fall through the open-' ings in the screens and down through 'thejcom-' partments and into'the influence of revolving blades 44 and 45 mounted upon alshaft 46 ar-' ranged in each compartment. These blades are arranged upon the said shaft in spaced relation, one of which has a right-hand spiral pitch and the other a leftshand spiral pitch. 'I'heseblades turning uponthe shafts 46 impart turning motion,

to the water fromthe ends ,of the compartments towards the center and draw the finer particles of the -mineral. and such fine particles of the V gangue that have 'fallen through the screens towards the center. bladesalso maintains the water below the screens in constant motion, and prevents the ore above the screens from becoming compacted thereupon.

The revolution of these' .cles of the mineral which have passed through and in bearings 55 formed integrally with the end Walls of the pans 45. Each of the shafts 46 extends through a stufling box 56 which prevents the escape of water from the compartments about the said shafts. These boxes are provided with flanged plates 5'! which are arranged over openings 58 in the lower part of the compartments ll and] I2, closing the said openings and holding the pans 48 in position. Lag screws 59 andGii secure the saidfianged plates and the brackets 54 in position against the end walls of the container. When the mercury in the pans 48 has become saturated with the minerals passing through the screens l! and I8, the pans may be removed and fresh mercury placed in the pans by removing the lag screws ,59 and 69, thus enabling the pansand the shafts 46 to be withdrawn from the compartments,

as shown by the dot-and-dash line in Fig. 3.

It will be understood that the separating and amalgamating operations are the same in each of the compartments H and !2, the compartment H separating the mineral having the heavierspecific gravity, while in the compartment l2 the lighter mineral is separated from the ore.

Asherein described, the pans 48 are formed semi-circular in cross section in order that the mineral falling down through the compartment upon the sidewall of the pans, will drop to the bottom of the pans into the mercury, thus eliminating any dead pockets in the'pans. A deflector plate 6| is provided'in each of the compartments above the opening 49, which defiects' the minerals towards the centerof the pans away from the said opening. U

When the ore contains minerals of different specific gravities, such as gold and silver, or lead and and being brought into the influence of the mercury will form an amalgam therewith.

When the ore contains lead and. zinc, the lead will be separated from the ore inthe first. compartment since it has the heavier specific gravity, while the zinc having the lighter specific gravity will be separated from the gangue in the second compartment. When separating lead and zinc from their ore, the pans 48, which are preferably formed of copper when treating gold-and-silver ore, are replaced with steel pans. The lead and zinc falling into the steel pans in the respective compartments are churned up with the water by the revolvingblades 44 and 45 and continually It is important to note that in theoperation of the machine the water contained therein is constantly agitated by the churning action of the revolving blades'in theiamalgamating pans which are so formed as to draw the water from the opposite ends of the chambers;towards thecenter, thus acting at all times on the beds of ore supported on the screens, while at intervals, by means of the plungers, the ore beds are raised and lowered bodily, thus causing the heavier metals therein contained to gravitate towards the screens and to pass therethrough to the V amalgamating pans at the'bottom; also that the raising of the ore beds by the downward stroke of the plungers acts to effect the transfer of ore from one screen to the other and finally to discharge the same from the machine by the. raising of the water level so that the incoming stream' at the sametime thatit deposits new ore on the ore bed in the first section, takes ofi the top of that bed of ore and delivers it to the next section.

By means of valves controlling the flow of water to the plungers, and the check valves, the upward movement of the plungers is facilitated and the amount of water'admitted'to the container may beregulated, and thus adjusting the upward pressure on the ore beds caused. by pulsations to accommodate the action to minerals of different specific gravity. The varying of the water pressure on the check valves and the pulsations, is

an important feature of the present invention.

When itis desired that the lighter minerals shall drop into the amalgamating pans the regulating valves are closed to the desired point thereby decreasing the upward pressure on the mineral beds, while theadmission of more water through the valves increases the upward pressure carrying the lighter mineral and sand upward where ity is carried off by the wash water.

What I claim is: V 1. A'machine for'separating minerals from their ores including a container, a pair of independent compartments arranged in said container, a screen in each of said compartments at or near the top and supported at different levels towards said outlet.

forming beds on which ore is deposited by water flowing through the'machine, and the screens being disposed so that the ore on the bed disposed'in the higher plane discharges on the bed disposed in the lower plane, an inlet duct for supplying ore leading to the ore bed disposed in the higher plane, an outlet duct for discharging the slag leading from the ore bed disposed in the lower plane, said compartments being adapted to contain water of a height corresponding to the levelof the top of the ore on' said screens, pipe bends connected to each of said compartments beneath the screens, pumps including reciprocating plungers arranged in each of said pipe bends,

water supply pipes connected to said'pipebends below the lower end of the stroke of the plunger, oheckvalves in said water supply pipes to automatically control the flow of water from the pumps to the compartments, regulatory valvesin said supply pipes to control the amount of water delivered to the pumps,an amalgamating chamber in each of said compartments beneath the screens, outlets formed adjacent the center or said amalgamating chambers, andv a plurality of spirally disposed blades cooperable to agitate the water and direct its flow towards said outlets, 2. A machine for separating minerals from their ores including a container, a screen disposed adjacent the top of said container-and forming a bed on which ore is disposed, means for supplying ore to the bed, means for discharging slag from said bed, saidcompartment being adapted to contain water of a height corresponding to the level of the top of the ore in said screen, a pipe I bend'connected to said compartment beneath the screen, a pump including a reciprocating plunger disp'osed'in said pipe bend, a water supply pipe connected to said pipe bend below the lower end of the stroke of the plunger, a check valve in said water supply pipe to automatically control the flow of water from the pump to the compartmerit, a regulatory valve in said supply pipe to control the amount of water delivered to the pump, an amalgamating chamber adjacent the bottom of. said compartment, said amalgamatingchamber having an Outlet formed in its central portion, and a plurality of spirally disposed blades mounted for rotatingmovement and cooperable to agitate the water and'direct its flow WILLIAM J. HANCOCK. 

